Ahmet Yayman, Chairman of the Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (MÜSİAD) New Approaches in Logistics and New Trade Routes Committee, Abdurrahman Uzun, Chairman of MÜSİAD Azerbaijan Baku, and Mustafa Özgür Yücel, Chairman of MÜSİAD Georgia Tbilisi, commented on the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project.

The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway line, known publicly as the Iron Silk Road and opened in October 2017 with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili, will carry out its first export service today.

The BTK railway line will accelerate freight transportation between Turkey and regional countries and increase trade potential.

"It Will Provide a Significant Advantage to Our Exporters"

Ahmet Yayman, Chairman of the MÜSİAD New Approaches in Logistics and New Trade Routes Committee, commented on the project and stated that the BTK railway line will significantly contribute to increasing Turkey's international trade volume.

Noting that the railway line will stimulate trade in the region, Yayman said, "With the opening of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line, our exporters in Anatolia will be able to send their goods to Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, the Turkic Republics, and China faster and more economically. Furthermore, the project will eliminate transit times that extend during the winter months, and the railway line will provide an advantage to our exporters."

Yayman noted that the BTK line will reduce transportation costs and diversify the goods our exporters will sell. He said, “The project will increase tonnage in transportation and provide optimal benefits to our country with manageable transit times. Furthermore, freight rates will be balanced because railcars leaving Turkey full will also return full.”

“The Free Trade Agreement Will Increase the Efficiency of the Project”

Speaking on the subject, Abdurrahman Uzun, President of MÜSİAD Azerbaijan Baku, emphasized that we have entered a period in which the project's benefits to the economies of the three countries will be clearly evident. Uzun stated, “This railway will significantly benefit Azerbaijan-Turkey trade. However, what is more important is the swift implementation of the free trade agreement between the two countries, which we have been eagerly awaiting for years. Since 2014, Turkey's exports to Azerbaijan have decreased by 65%. During this period, Turkish goods have been at a significant disadvantage compared to goods from the CIS countries. It is crucial for both countries to quickly resolve this situation, which disadvantages Turkey. The agreement will enable Azerbaijani consumers to consume higher-quality products at lower prices. The swift implementation of this agreement, which aims to achieve the trade goals between Turkey and Azerbaijan, will also significantly increase the efficiency of the BTK railway line project.”

“The Project Will Help Double Trade Volume”

Mustafa Özgür Yücel, President of MÜSİAD Georgia Tbilisi, stated that this investment between the two friendly and brotherly countries will further enhance existing trade. Yücel, noting that there is currently over $1.5 billion in trade volume between Turkey and Georgia, assessed that the BTK railway line project will help achieve President Erdoğan's goal of reaching $3 billion in trade volume.